Welcoming Stonehill’s New Faculty for the 76th Academic Year

At the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, Stonehill College appointed several faculty members. Some of these educators are new to our community, while others have previously worked on campus but have been elevated to full-time roles at the College. These community members will offer students their expertise in such fields as sociology, political science, science, and sport management, among others. 

May School of Arts & Sciences

Sameera Akella, Assistant Professor of Sociology 

Akella is an interdisciplinary sociologist who studies at the intersection of gender, sexuality, race, and health. Their research utilizes storytelling and other forms of qualitative methodology to understand health and wellness-related experiences of the QTBIPOC community.  

 

Lyndsey Benharris, Associate Professor of Education Studies 

Benharris’ research interests include critical literacy in early childhood education, social justice pedagogy, early reading, historical myths, gender, and identity. She currently teaches courses on child development, emergent literacy, reading, and critical literacy. Previously, Benharris was an early childhood educator at a public school in Massachusetts. 

 

Guillermo Caballero, Assistant Professor of Political Science  

Caballero is a critical scholar, educator, and Boston-based spoken word artist. He specializes in American politics, focusing on Black political representation, public policy, and identity politics, particularly social movements.  

 

Justin Compton, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences and Studies 

Compton has dedicated his career to studying the interactions between wildlife species and their environments, aiming to promote biodiversity and sustainable ecosystems. His work has helped in understanding the impacts of habitat fragmentation, climate change, and human activities on wildlife populations. 

 

Jennifer Dabrowski, Associate Professor of Chemistry 

Dabrowski began her independent career at Elon University, where she earned tenure and was named the A. L. Hook Emerging Scholar in Science and Mathematics for her passion for undergraduate research. Her scholarship focuses on three key areas: sustainable access to medicine, the investigation of the bioinorganic chemistry of vanadium, and chemical education. 

 

Ashvin Kini, Assistant Professor of English

Kini is an interdisciplinary scholar and teacher of queer, postcolonial and Asian American literary and cultural studies. His writing has appeared in Diaspora, Lateral, South Asian Review, American Studies and The Journal of African American History.  

 

Fran Roy, Professor of Practice in Education and Coordinator of Field Experience 

A distinguished educator with over 30 years of experience, Roy began as a middle school math teacher before becoming an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Rhode Island. Later, she returned to public education as the Chief Academic Officer for the Fall River Public Schools. Before joining the Stonehill community, she was the on-site Receiver for Parker Elementary in New Bedford and Dever Elementary in Boston. 

 

Katie Elia-Shannon ’04, Professor of Practice in Communication 

Elia-Shannon, a Boston-based filmmaker, has become a full-time faculty member after having served as an adjunct instructor since 2014. As the founder of Thompson Films, she created and directed K&A, an award-winning web series that has been screened at several film festivals across the country. Shannon’s company also produced 113 Days, a feature-length documentary that followed the Stonehill Women’s Lacrosse team during the 2012 season.  

Meehan School of Business

Shea Brgoch, Assistant Professor of Sport Management 

Previously, Brgoch spent three years as an assistant professor at Western Kentucky University. She started her career in the sport industry by coaching volleyball at Missouri Southern State University before working with Ball State Women’s Volleyball team as a manager and director of operations. Brgoch’s research primarily focuses on the dissemination and implementation of research findings into practice. 

 

Annemarie Farrell, Associate Professor of Sport Management 

Farrell previously spent 18 years at Ithaca College, expanding experiential learning offerings through strategic partnerships with numerous sport leagues and organizations. She is a manager of the U.S. women’s national rugby team and has coached rugby teams at Mount Holyoke College, Denison University, and Cornell University. She spent 15 years as head coach for Ithaca College men’s rugby, one of only a few men’s teams led by a female.  

 

Courtney Jansson, Assistant Professor of Marketing 

Jansson recently became a full-time faculty member after originally joining the Stonehill community on a part-time basis in 2015. Her research interests include social media marketing, influencer marketing, marketing education, and experiential learning. She previously worked in digital marketing in the insurance, software and communication industries.  

 

Peter Langton, Assistant Professor of Management & Data Analytics, Talent & Human Resources Management 

Langton is a nationally recognized motivational speaker and organizational development consultant. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Pierce Aluminum for 20 years. Before entering corporate duty, Langton worked in various student-facing roles at Mary Washington College and The George Washington University.  

 

Mark Willis, Professor of Practice in Healthcare Management 

Besides teaching at institutions like Northeastern University, Bunker Hill Community College, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Willis has worked in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry for the last 25 years. He started his own independent consulting company back in 2018, and he has consulted for the United States Food & Drug Administration.  

Graduate & Professional Studies

Lori Ann Dunn, Professor of Practice in Graduate Education 

Dunn started teaching in 1997 as a special educator in a self-contained classroom. Over the past two decades in education, she has worked as a reading specialist, instructional literacy coach, and as an administrator. She has also served on New England Association of Schools and Colleges committees and formed student assistance teams within schools to support students.

 

Elizabeth Llorca, Assistant Professor of Bilingual Education  

Formerly, Llorca served as the Bilingual Hub Liaison at UMass-Amherst and worked as a dual language teacher for five years. She is currently working on her dissertation, focusing on inclusive practices within dual language programs. 

 

Kristin McGillicuddy, Professor of Practice in Graduate Marketing 

McGillicuddy has 20 years of college teaching experience at Stonehill in both the undergraduate and graduate marketing programs. In addition to teaching, she has 24 years of marketing experience with senior marketing and higher education positions at various companies. She most recently served as the Senior Marketing Lead for Commercial & Leisure Maritime at KVH Industries.